Representative image of a plane making an emergency landing.
Credit: iStock Photo
Lahore: A disaster was narrowly averted when a packed passenger plane of Pakistan's private airlines caught fire and made an emergency landing at Lahore airport on Monday, an official said.
According to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of Pakistan, Fly Jinnah's flight FL-846 left for Lahore from Karachi on Monday with 171 passengers including crew aboard.
“The captain issued a 'Mayday' call near Lahore at 7:15 pm reporting after smoke emitting in the cargo compartment,” CAA spokesperson Saifullah Khan told PTI.
He said as per SOPs, the airport authority's fire department was present at the scene to deal with any situation during the emergency landing.
“The plane landed safely at the Lahore airport at 7:23 pm,” he said and added all passengers and crew were safely evacuated using the aircraft's emergency evacuation system. He said the senior officials have ordered an investigation into the incident.
According to the CAA, a technical team inspected the plane regarding the smoke. Fire brigades and ambulances had also been called before the plane's landing. After the emergency landing, all the doors of the plane were opened, and passengers were evacuated using slides.
The smoke was seen emitting from the cargo side of the plane before the emergency landing. Passengers were not allowed to take any luggage from inside the plane.
The crew reportedly appeared under pressure as they were checking the air pressure.
A source told PTI that the pilot was a foreigner and he executed the emergency landing with professional expertise.